Gender stereotyping in infancy: Visual preferences for and knowledge of gender-stereotyped toys in the second year

Infants' visual preferences for gender-stereotyped toys and their knowledge of stereotyped toys were examined in two experiments using an adaptation o f the preferential looking paradigm. Girls and boys aged 12, 18, and 24 mon ths were tested for their preference for photos of vehicles or dolls, and f or whether they associated ("matched'') these two stereotyped sets of toys with the faces and voices of male and female children. Results of Experimen t 1 (N = 77) demonstrated significant preferences for gender stereotyped to ys appearing by 18 months of age. In Experiment 2 (N = 58), girls were able to associate the gender-stereotyped toys with girls' and boys' faces by 18 months of age, but boys were not. Implications for theories of early gende r development are discussed.